Nova Hyperion(2018)
Nova Hyperion was a mark IV South Korean jaeger primarily stationed at the Vladivostok and Nagasaki Shatterdomes. It defended wide swaths of the Asia Pacific for 6 years before its destruction in 2024. History Early Combat History Nova Hyperion was launched on September 16, 2018. It was the second-to-last mark IV unit, followed by Echo Saber two months later. Nova was initially assigned to the Vladivostok Shatterdome, executing operations with veteran mark I Cherno Alpha. Nova's pilots were heavily influenced by the Kaidanovsky couple; their fighting style incorporated many similarities to that of Cherno Alpha's, at the same time being considerably more reserved and elegant. Tentalus Nova's first engagement was against the category III Tentalus on March 26, 2019. Tentalus bypassed the extensive jaeger coverage in Tokyo and Hong Kong, opting to head for Incheon. Nova's first engagement would take place on her home turf. Nova touched down on Incheon's Miracle Mile just as Tentalus made a beeline for the shore. The jaeger unleashed six Lionfish torpedoes, their impact sending Tentalus flying out of the water. Nova closed the distance and began slashing deep gashes into Tentalus' hide; the beast uttered a guttural roar as its limbs were severed one by one. A surge of electricity from Nova's energy caster reduced Tentalus to a twitching, bleeding hunk of flesh. Despite the imminent victory, LOCCENT controllers were monitoring Nova's right-hand rig with anxious eyes; it was rapidly overheating, despite zero damage done to the conn-pod. Both pilots opted to finish Tentalus, ripping open its chest cavity and skewering its heart. The right-hand rig exploded split seconds after LOCCENT declared no signature. Thankfully, the explosion did not destroy the entire conn-pod. Yuna was unscathed, but So-Yi had to receive one year of medical treatment for extensive trauma and drivesuit burns. Nova's conn-pod had to be redesigned from the ground-up. Hammerjaw Hammerjaw breached on Friday, July 13, 2023. "Friday the 13th" quickly escalated into a nightmare as Hammerjaw sped towards Tokyo. Echo Saber, Coyote Tango and Tacit Ronin awaited on Tokyo's Miracle Mile. These jaegers never managed to fire a single shot, as Hammerjaw disappeared 2 miles off Tokyo. Two hours later, Hammerjaw made landfall in Nagasaki. Not a single jaeger was deployed there, with the Shatterdome empty except for Nova Hyperion. By the time Nova arrived on-site, Hammerjaw had trampled a path of destruction two kilometers into Nagasaki. Ten bolts of energy from Nova froze Hammerjaw in its tracks. The jaeger followed with a volley of fluid jabs to Hammerjaw's side. Hammerjaw responded with a head-but, its armored skull sending Nova staggering sideways. Jaeger and Kaiju grappled their way through the city, until Nova sent pulses of energy cascading into Hammerjaw's mouth. It was kicked to the ground as Nova relentlessly thrust home her vibro-longsword. Hammejaw was flatlined near Nagasaki Peace Park amid a pool of pulped organs and acrid Blue. Taranis Cherno Alpha was bludgeoning Taranis with a cruise ship when Nova arrived at Queen Charlotte Sound. The mark IV let loose a barrage of energy bolts and torpedoes, driving Taranis away from Cherno. Nova and Taranis subsequently engaged in a brutal sword-fight; the kaiju's bladed limbs clashed with Nova's longswords in a blinding dance of steel. Not long after, Taranis crumpled over with chunks of flesh gouged out and pulsing organs exposed. Cherno hammered away at the doomed kaiju, demonically crushing bones and shredding organs. Nova silently watched on as Taranis' lifeless husk sank to the bottom of the Sound. Typhon Typhon breached on October 20, 2024 and headed for the Okhotsk Sea. It was even larger than KC-24, with a clubbed tail and long, muscular arms. Two of these ended in blunt, hammer-like structures, similar to the category II Ragnarok. Its bone and muscle structure was the densest of any kaiju to date, granting Typhon tremendous strength and resistance to damage. In the vicinity of the Miracle Mile, Typhon abruptly turned towards a formation of ice sheets. LOCCENT informed Nova's crew of an old icebreaker trapped in the thick ice; Typhon was swimming briskly in its direction. Nova immediately ignited its rear jets and gave chase. As the stricken icebreaker came into view, six Lionfish torpedoes impacted against Typhon. Using this as a distraction, Nova slogged through the ice and nestled the ship securely on her left palm. Split seconds later, Nova was blindsided by a hammer-shot to her midsection. Typhon relentlessly pummeled the handicapped mark IV, bringing her down to one knee. Nova could retaliate with just one arm while simultaneously guarding the icebreaker from attack. Typhon refused to relinquish its advantage, giving Nova no time to set down the icebreaker and recover. After withstanding 20 minutes of harrowing punishment, Nova managed to unload a full-clip of energy onto Typhon and drive it back. She then fired a volley of torpedoes, setting down the icebreaker as Typhon staggered sideways. The energy caster continued to spit out sizzling bolts of electricity, while Nova's longswords locked into position. A rapid volley of thrusts and slashes ripped off chunks of Typhon's flesh and bisected both hammer-arms. Nova slit Typhon's throat and jammed her left-hand sword deep into its chest, vivisecting the beast with a downward-slash. Typhon met a grotesque end in a twisted surgery as its organs were hacked apart. Baba Yaga On the night of November 9, 2024, the category IV Baba Yaga demolished Brawler Yukon off the coast of Dalian. Cherno Alpha and Crimson Typhoon were severely crippled, knocking them out of action until Pitfall. LOCCENT had given Baba Yaga a brutally prophetic name; it bristled with heavy armor and spikes, with no less than ten limbs armed with everything from lobster claws to acid-tipped spears. Its barbed tail stinger had skewered Brawler's torso with ease, injecting corrosive acid which melted a gaping hole in the mark I's chest. Although Cherno and Typhoon had severed four limbs and inflicted significant damage to its armor, Baba Yaga was very much alive and kicking. Nova and Baba Yaga clashed in Laizhou Bay. Although Baba Yaga had just six limbs remaining, Nova could barely keep up with its devastatingly precise strikes. The battle raged on for nine hours, moving through the Bohai Strait and into the Yellow Sea. As the sun rose above the horizon, a battered Nova Hyperion swung her cracked longswords to counter Baba Yaga's three remaining limbs. One sword was caught by the kaiju's lobster claws and snapped like a twig. The other one was lodged deep between two armor plates; it too was shattered as Baba Yaga bucked and convulsed like a possessed animal. Nova was soon dragged underwater as her legs buckled from Baba Yaga's weight. Internal damage sustained from the prolonged battle had wreaked havoc on Nova's servos and synapse system; the jaeger failed to respond according to pilot input, no matter how much they struggled. Water permeated into key system components and flooded the conn-pod. All seemed lost, until Nova jammed a jagged rock into a hole in Baba Yaga's side. Both titans breached the surface, with the kaiju screeching in agony. Nova dragged itself to a nearby oil-rig and ripped out its drill. This was hurled like a javelin, nailing Baba Yaga through the brain. Nova collapsed on top of Baba Yaga and ripped its brain out; the kaiju's death throes were cut short by a horrific symphony of tearing flesh. Destruction By December 2024, Nova was one of just three active jaegers, along with Striker Eureka and Vulcan Specter. Cherno Alpha and Crimson Typhoon were still under repair after Baba Yaga, while Gipsy Danger was being refurbished for a 2025 relaunch. If all went well, six jaegers would take part in Pitfall; Striker as the bomb-carrier, while the others defended it from attack. After the Vladivostok Shatterdome closed on December 11, Nova was relocated to Hong Kong in preparation for Pitfall. Thus, four jaegers were in Hong Kong, while Vulcan Specter and Striker Eureka would join them in January 2025. The PPDC's strained jaeger coverage was once again put to the test when Widowmaker breached on December 16, 2024. It headed for the Philippines, mandating immediate deployment from Hong Kong. As both Cherno and Typhoon were under repair, Nova was the only jaeger Hong Kong could deploy. Sydney deployed Vulcan Specter, but it would take her in excess of ten hours to reach the Philippines. By the time Vulcan arrived, the battle would likely be over. Widowmaker circled the Visayan Islands for thirty minutes before targeting Luzon. Although the largest population center in the Philippines, insufficient anti-kaiju bunkers and law enforcement hindered Luzon's evacuation process; it was just 50% complete when Nova was dropped into the Sibuyan Sea. Six Lionfish torpedoes hurtled towards Widowmaker, none of which struck home. The kaiju had evaded the torpedoes, opting to close the distance and engage in melee combat. Widowmaker was, in a way, the perfect counter for Nova Hyperion; its thin, spindly build presented a difficult target to hit with ranged weapons, while its six arms had twice the reach of Nova's swords. Widowmaker could thus inflict damage where Nova couldn't, a decisive advantage in any battle scenario. The kaiju gave Nova no chance to use her energy caster, rapidly closing in and stabbing deep holes into her torso. Nova thus had no choice but to dance in and out of harm's way while parrying any potential strikes with her longswords. Three hours of high-intensity movement took its toll on the jaeger; despite their best efforts, the weary pilots had been unable to close the distance. Nova had taken a barrage of nasty hits, which, coupled with the pilots' exertion, slowed her down considerably. Multiple attempts to use ranged weapons had been interrupted; torpedoes were exhausted and one energy caster was shot. Around the four hour mark, Nova managed to trap one of Widowmaker's arms and chop it off. A blind strike by the panicked kaiju was perfectly countered, as Nova twisted it backwards and snapped it, hurling Widowmaker back in the process. This was followed by repetitive slashes to both legs. Nova elbowed Widowmaker and sank her right-hand blade deep within its shoulder. Widowmaker's four remaining arms flailed helplessly as its chest was mercilessly ravaged by Nova's longswords. Another arm was severed, spinning into the sea like a bloody corkscrew. White-hot energy crackled like lightning as Nova's sole remaining energy caster let loose a tempest of electricity. Yet this was simply dispersed across Widowmaker's torso, LOCCENT instruments detecting a colossal spike in energy within the beast. Widowmaker's thunderous roar echoed for miles as the energy was directed back at Nova, ripping into her frame and overloading her batteries. Four more salvos of energy cascaded through the jaeger and her wailing pilots; Nova's chest was bust open as her batteries ignited in a fiery inferno. Five hours later, the kaiju had failed to make landfall; the damage and exertion from its struggle with Nova had drained its energy and hindered movement. Widowmaker barely put up a fight as Vulcan Specter ripped its lungs out near Manila Bay. Only one of Nova's pilots survived with crippling injuries; her partner had died when Nova's conn-pod slammed into a rock after the explosion. 11 days later, Vulcan Specter's pilot Tyler Zachery would meet the same fate. Features Kaiju Killed Category:Jaegers Category:Mark IV